Joe Rogan Under Fire From ADL & Other Comedians For Spreading “Vicious Lies About The Jewish People” On Spotify Show
08.02.2023 - 02:13
/ deadline.com
No stranger to controversy, self-billed stand up comic/mixed martial arts fanatic/psychedelic adventurer Joe Rogan offering the following generalization about Jews on his massively popular Spotify show: “The idea that Jewish people are not into money is ridiculous. That’s like saying Italians aren’t into pizza.”
Rogan was speaking to MSNBC contributor Krystal Ball about Rep. Ilhan Omar’s 2019 tweet that Israel’s defenders in the U.S. were motivated solely by money.
“It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” wrote Omar at the time. The tweet drew a swift rebuke from leaders on both sides of the aisle, including then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Omar later recanted, writing, “I unequivocally apologize.”
The Spotify host’s statements were part of a conversation about Rep. Adam Schiff.
“It’s crazy,” said Rogan. “Did you see him sitting next to Ilhan Omar, where she’s apologizing for talking about it’s all about the Benjamins? Which is just about money. She’s talking about money. That’s not an antisemitic comment, I don’t think that is. Benjamins are money.”
He continued, “The idea that Jewish people are not into money is ridiculous. That’s like saying Italians aren’t into pizza. It’s f*ck*ng stupid.”
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt called the comedian’s comments “No joke” and said he found it “disturbing that at a time of rising anti-Jewish violence, when growing numbers of Americans believe in antisemitic conspiracy theories, @joerogan would use his immense platform to spew antisemitic tropes about Jews and money.”
Explaining further, Greenblatt reminded that, “For centuries, people have used these longstanding tropes to spread vicious lies about the Jewish people. ‘Comedian’ or not, Rogan’s comments are no joke.”
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